Tau reconstruction methods at an electron-positron collider in the search for new physics

Abstract

By exploiting the relatively long lifetime of the tau lepton, we propose several novel methods for searching for new physics at an electron-positron collider. We consider processes that involve final states consisting of a tau lepton pair plus two missing particles. The mass and spin of the new physics particles can be measured in 3-prong tau decays. The tau polarization, which reflects the coupling to new physics, can be measured from the τ → πν decay channel using the impact parameter distribution of the charged pion. We also discuss the corresponding backgrounds for these measurements, the next-to-leading order (NLO) effects, and the implications of finite detector resolution.